A US judge in Washington late on Sunday provisionally blocked a Trump administration order to halt a ban on downloads of the popular video app TikTok. The order came hours before it was to go into effect.
District Judge Carl Nichols issued a temporary injunction at the request of TikTok, which the Trump administration has called a national security threat claiming that its Chinese parent company is tied to the Beijing government.
The White House's order tried to ban new downloads of the app from midnight, but would allow the use of TikTok until November 12, when all users would be prevented. The judge denied TikTok's request to exclude the November 12 ban. TikTok has been installed by more than 100 million Americans.
Trump has called for bans on both TikTok and WeChat, owned by China's Tencent Holdings Ltd. alleging the apps could give China's government access to millions of Americans' data.
District Judge Carl Nichols issued a temporary injunction at the request of TikTok, which the Trump administration has called a national security threat claiming that its Chinese parent company is tied to the Beijing government.
The White House's order tried to ban new downloads of the app from midnight, but would allow the use of TikTok until November 12, when all users would be prevented. The judge denied TikTok's request to exclude the November 12 ban. TikTok has been installed by more than 100 million Americans.
Trump has called for bans on both TikTok and WeChat, owned by China's Tencent Holdings Ltd. alleging the apps could give China's government access to millions of Americans' data.